Carolina Studios Music Industry Internship Program: What We Do
Showing local high schoolers career opportunities in Charleston's music industry and beyond.
While working with high schools in the Charleston area over the years, Carolina Studios found that there was a need for opportunities and classes on music production and other industry related skills. Students and teachers began asking if internship and apprenticeship opportunities were available for students looking to get their start and learn about the music industry but didn’t know how to do so.
One of the high schools that worked with us for an afterschool program reached out and expressed interest in funding an internship program for their students that were interested in audio production.
The course caters to high school Juniors and Seniors interested in music production, songwriting, studio recording and music industry concepts. Our partnership with one Charleston-area school allowed us to build a small recording studio in the classroom as a hands-on tool for the program.
Through classroom lectures, lessons and experience with music production software, field trips and more, our internship teaches students how to write and produce an original song, make connections with in Charleston’s music industry and beyond, and finally, teach younger students how to navigate music technology at the end of the course. Students participating in the program are able to receive work based high school credit for the internship, and will produce several songs along with knowledge on distribution and independent publishing.
If you know of a high school that may be interested in a partnership program with Carolina Studios, speak to your administrator and email us at info@carolinastudios.net.
Guest Speakers
We aim to educate our students on the possibilities of the Charleston music industry and beyond through visits from guest speakers, field trips, and the experience of our instructors.
Caleb Coker
One of the biggest parts of working in the music industry is knowing who is who. Caleb talked the students through some of the basic roles in the music industry and emphasized that in your career, you’ll probably play them all!
Our first guest speaker was Caleb Coker of Empire Booking Agency.
Caleb got a start in the industry playing guitar for a few bands. When he began to study Arts Management at the College of Charleston, he realized his passion for the behind-the-scenes and worked internships with Umphrey’s McGee and Ear for Music, two of Charleston’s industry gems.
He then got a job working with Empire Booking at their base in LA, but he missed Charleston enough to convince his boss to let him open his own branch in West Ashley. It’s a small 3-person operation for now, but they manage over fifteen acts on their own and they’re one of Charleston’s only booking agencies.
It’s not easy getting high school kids to talk about their passions, but Caleb was able to pull them out of their shells and share some really great conversations.
In his talk with the students, he stressed the importance of making positive personal connections because in the music industry, reputation is everything. He discussed the different paths that students can take during and after high school, and got to know some of what the students are working on and what they care about.
For a first guest speaker, Caleb was a great example of somebody starting off at the bottom of the totem pole and working his way up, a real inspiration for both the instructors and students!
For Fall 2019, we had a new group of three students enter the class. They’d written some music before, but never recorded in a studio and had never made their own beats. Now they’re producing beats and getting ready to perform at the talent show with one of our former students from Spring 2019.
Rob Lamble
We had Rob Lamble, founder of Ear for Music and friend to Carolina Studios, come and speak to our students about promotion, talent buying, and festival planning. Ear for Music has had a heavy hand in the development of Charleston’s most well-known festivals like High Water and Trondossa, and they’re responsible for our success in our annual Pro-Am Jam and our Mex 1 Sessions. Rob has over 20 years of experience in the music industry, working on concert promotion of every level before starting Ear for Music.
Rob shared so much knowledge with our students, but he stressed most the importance of passion and effort in the music industry. It’s a big world in the music industry, but with relationships and passion to rely on, it’s a lot easier to navigate.
One of our students manages two bands already, and was able to give Rob their information, some great practice for networking in the future. We bring in our guest speakers in order to give our students the confidence and networking skills that are necessary to excel in every area of life going forward.
Heather McDonald
Heather McDonald was a professor to both of our teachers, Casey Riordan and Kyrstin McDonald. She currently teaches in the College of Charleston Arts Management Program and heads up 1770 Records, the College’s record label. They plan concerts and teach students valuable skills related to planning shows, booking, and working as an artist.
The biggest thing that Heather stressed to our students is that working in the music industry is hard work; modern artists can’t live off of streaming royalties anymore, so they need to work harder to tour and market themselves, and they need to consider their options when it comes to independent and major labels.
At the end of the class after hearing their songs in progress, Heather offered the students a huge opportunity: their finished songs would be featured on 1770 Records’ Hip Hop Mixtape, to be released on Spotify in January. The look on their faces was priceless, and we can’t wait to hear their songs bumpin’ on some speakers soon.
Field Trips
We’ve been working on getting together some unique field trip opportunities for our high school interns. These field trips aim to give students a better idea of some of the workspaces in the music industry and instill a sense of ambition and leadership. With Charleston’s growing music scene, there’s more and more demand for musicians and producers, and these kids have some of the highest potential and opportunity.
Coast Records
On May 20th, our high school interns took an end-of-year trip to Coast Records in Downtown Charleston. There, they met Matt Zuttell, founder and producer at the studio. He talked all about being a DIY musician as well as helping other musicians on their projects, and laid down the basics of starting your own studio. The kids got to preview some tracks that Matt is mixing for local band Veja Du, and one of them even got to play some of his own tracks over the loudspeakers!
In their tour of the studio, Matt showed them the complicated steps to recording drums as well as some of the easiest instruments and hardware to use as a homegrown artist, and gave some really valuable tips on how to be successful as a young person in the music industry.
One of the biggest things we try to emphasize for our students is that you don’t need an expensive education or equipment to be successful. It’s just as easy to get a good job in the music industry from shadowing people and making real connections as if you go to school for it, and both take an extreme amount of commitment. Music is for everybody, and we want to make sure that everybody has an equal opportunity to participate in it.
With this experience, we hope to show students that not only are they capable of producing music, but they’ve also got an amazing network in Charleston already, they just need to make connections to use them. The trip was really inspiring, and one of our students even took these awesome photos for us!
Charleston Music Hall
The Fall 2019 class got the chance to go to the Charleston Music Hall, one of Charleston’s most influential and intimate concert halls. The students spoke with the light and sound crew as well as their director of operations. There were many lessons learned on that trip, and some of them were some harsh realities that we face no matter what in the industry.
The music industry is an incredible place to work; because of this, there are so many people looking at the same exact positions that you are, no matter where you are. Therefore, it’s important to distinguish yourself in everything that you’re doing. Stay hungry for information, realize that you’re always learning, be respectful and on time, know how to communicate with your crew, and stay safe. As minorities, our students will need to work harder to make a positive reputation for themselves, a harsh but present reality.
All in all it was a n experience for the books. A respected venue like the Charleston Music Hall is something that people as young as our students often overlook, but now they’ll forever remember it as the place where they learned so much about passion, tenacity, and responsibility.
Leadership Trip
Over a series of field trips, our high schoolers helped the younger kids write their own songs, stepping right into our shoes here at Carolina Studios.
After they put a beat together on Logic, they took some time to write some lyrics about school, home, and what they love most (and some silly ones, too.) They stepped into the booth, recorded their songs, and got CDs to take home and show all of their friends.
As a high school student, it’s difficult to find direction. Putting teenagers in an educator’s position gives them the chance to reassess what they learned over the year; as Albert Einstein said, “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” We put that to the test, and our high schoolers really know what they’re talking about! Being able to assist elementary schoolers in writing a song on Logic Pro X is no easy task, but our high school interns did great.
Definitely schools must teach students how to
compose.